September Rebellion Update: Going Global?

What a crazy eight months to start 2010!

Honestly, back in January, the thought of running my own business, selling fitness guides, and planning some exciting adventures still seemed to be years away, and yet here I am!  By the time you read this, I’ll be on a plane headed back to Atlanta after spending nine days visiting my family up on Cape Cod.  The Rebel Fitness Guide is officially off and running to a great start, so I gave myself a day off yesterday – kinda – which allowed me to finish reading A Game of Thrones (AWESOME).

It’s September 2nd, which means we only have four months left in 2010! I wanted to share my plans for the rest of year, covering my own personal goals and also my goals for Nerd Fitness.

Expanding the Rebellion

Since quitting my job back in June and taking on Nerd Fitness full-time, I’ve received a bunch of emails from readers who are/were in the same boat as me, wanting to know how I did it, how I plan on keeping myself afloat, and what my plans are for the future.  I really enjoy these emails, and I love hearing from other people who are interested in creating their own small business, so PLEASE keep sending them!

This has been planned for months, but I want to expand the scope of my writing here on Nerd Fitness. Although the NF Rebellion began as a way to fight against obesity, conventional wisdom, and nerd stereotypes, I’ve realized that it has also become a rebellion against a life without passion and plans that happen eventually instead of now.

I want to help people who are interested in making changes and improving their lives.

Don’t worry, I don’t plan on abandoning the type of articles that I usually write; I’ll simply be augmenting them with stories about my adventures, experiences from building an online business, and advice for others looking to level up their lives in ways other than fitness.  Even if you have no desire to quit your job and you’re perfectly content with the life you live, these articles will still provide value.

I had this great idea to call the part of the Rebel Army who want to break free “Freedom Fighters,” and then I realized why I thought it was such a good idea: because my friend Karol Gajda already took it like two years ago.

You win this round Gajda!

Travel Plans

Back in January, I discovered the art of travel hacking from Chris Guillebeau and his excellent Frequent Flyer Master book. The guide turned me on to some great communities and killer credit card deals (don’t worry Mom, I pay them off in full each month).  Even though I’ve been minimizing my expenses for the past year, the Frequent Flyer Master has helped me acquire:

• 127,000 American Airline miles
• 110,000 British Airways miles
• 50,000 SPG points
• 25,000 Delta miles

Now that I have freed up my time and my location, I think it’s time for me to start using these points to see the world. Seriously, I’ve never even been outside of North America! I want to step outside of my comfort zone, see some beautiful places, and go on some kick-ass adventures.  In order to afford everything, I’ll be traveling on a tight budget, using every connection I have, applying every travel-hacking tip I know, and cutting my expenses to a bare minimum.  Not only that, but I also plan on getting rid of ALL my crap – my digital piano, amp, dvds, videogames, books, old clothes, and more.

After spending months reading about the clutter-less and experience-filled lives of people like Leo of Zen Habits, Baker of Man vs. Debt, the aforementioned Karol (who is a big hit with old ladies),  Corbett of Free Pursuits, and Evrett Brogue of Far Beyond The Stars, I have fallen in love with the minimalist concept – stop buying stuff you don’t need, sell the crap you already have but don’t use, and spend the extra money investing in yourself and life-changing experiences.

I fully plan on writing two articles a week even while traveling, so you won’t see any drastic changes as far as the format of NF goes.  More details on where I’m headed and when are coming soon!

Immediate Nerd Fitness Plans

The Rebel Fitness Guide is launched, but my work has only just begun. The initial sales of the guide definitely surpassed my expectations, but if I’m going to continue making money through this site I need to really focus on constantly growing the Rebel Army.  I want to put out at least two guest posts a month along with creating my usual two posts per week here at NF, which means I’ll be writing like crazy.

Nerd Fitness t-shirts. They’re coming, I swear!  Now that I have a quasi-income and time to dedicate to getting the project off the ground, I’m ready to finally start making some NF t-shirts!  I apologize to those of you that have been waiting months to get one; obviously quitting my day job kind of forced me to slightly reorganize my priorities.  I have a few different designs that I’m considering, and I’ll put it up to a vote soon to see which shirt you like the best.

My next guide. I want to get started on the next guide as soon as possible: a strength and muscle building guide.  This next guide will focus more on the muscle building aspect of fitness, teaching people how to really build muscle and power safely and efficiently.  It will also have a huge diet component, as your diet is 90% of the battle when it comes to packing on the muscle.  Time to get started!

Leveling Up My Life

I have a confession to make: I completely neglected my own personal health and well-being over the past few weeks while finishing up the Rebel Fitness Guide, and I expect that to continue during Labor Day Weekend (I’ll be in Nashville at the Vandy-Northwestern game, go Dores!).  Starting next Tuesday however, I plan on re-dedicating myself to getting in great shape by the end of the year.

Next Tuesday will also kick off the next 28-day challenge (which will have a twist…).  So be ready to kick some butt on the 7th.

Just because it’s the end of the year doesn’t mean there’s not enough time to do something significant. What do you want to accomplish in the next four months?

-Steve

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